Pioneer Forge Introduction

Located in Chilly Idaho, north of the town of Mackay,
Pioneer Forge sits at the base of Mount Borah, Idaho's highest peak.

Pioneer Forge was founded by master knifesmith Ray Black. With more then twenty five years experience, and well known for his hand made Damascus and high carbon steel blades, Ray's knives are currently sought after by collectors world wide.

Pioneer Forge is dedicated to bringing top quality custom made knives to the general public at affordable prices. Whether displayed in a collectors case or carried into the field these knives are crafted for hard use and will give a lifetime of service.

A note from the knifemaker

Each of our knives is hand forged and masterfully crafted from the finest of steels, fitted with custom made handles of antler or exotic woods, and honed to a razor edge. Each knife comes with a top quality custom fitted leather sheath produced here in our shop by my wife, Judie.

I mainly use plain carbon steels 1095, 5160, 52100, L6 and wire rope. I hand forge the blades to shape and grind to final shape. The blades are differentially hardened twice and tempered for 2 hours then soaked in liquid nitrogen for 12 hours then tempered for 2 more hours. The blades are hand rubbed to a final finish.

I hope you enjoy your visit to our site. Each Knife Showcase has samples of work I have done. Although I may have a few knives in stock from time to time, I prefer to work with each of my customers and design a "one of a kind" knife to best fulfill their personal needs, whether it's a fancy collectable, a hard working field knife, a special kitchen knife, or a primitive reenactor's knife.

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